New Candidate Jumps Into Alabama Senate Race

An ex-Marine has waded into one of America’s roughest battlegrounds — the special election to fill the open U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.

Lee Busby, 60, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said he thinks that popular disgust with Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones creates an opportunity for someone who represents the vast majority of people between the two political extremes.

“Alabama is not happy with the two choices we have down here. They are not appealing,” he told The Daily Beast.

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Busby said Moore and Jones own the edges of the political spectrum, but not the middle.

“I think you can flip this thing. If this were a military operation, the left flank and the right flank are heavily guarded,” said Busby, who once served as a top aide to retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, the current White House chief of staff. “I think that gives you an opportunity to run straight up the middle.”

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Busby faces a daunting challenge. The special election to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions is Dec. 12. Busby lacks a staff and funds, but said he hopes media exposure will propel his campaign, which has a website ticking down the time until Alabama votes.

Busby said neither major party candidate deserves support.

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“I just don’t believe that either one of them are qualified to be in the U.S. Senate,” Busby told The Washington Post.

Since his retirement, Busby has been a sculptor who focuses on veterans who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“In the military we say a warrior dies twice. The first time is when he draws his last breath. The second time is when somebody speaks his name for the last time. You know how when you do something that touches you, you know it,” he told Southern Living in August.

“I’m not Michelangelo. But I know the world that these people were operating in. I know what they went through and I do have some ability to score. So, that’s what I want to do.”

Busby said he has been disturbed by 40-year-old allegations that Moore acted inappropriately around teenage girls when he was in his 30s.

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“It has created enough distaste in my mind,” he said. “As a voter, I don’t need to get to the bottom of it.”

“The people of Alabama are not going to be represented by someone who supports a liberal abortion policy,” said Busby, who is pro-life. “I’m extremely concerned about the Democratic Party in Alabama. I don’t think they reflect Alabama’s views.”

“At some point, it becomes a human life,” he said of an unborn fetus. “And you have to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”

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Busby served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before retiring in 2013, he was Kelly’s vice chief of staff when the general commanded the Marine Forces Reserve.

Busby said he did not let Kelly know in advance about his decision to run.